2024 College Track & Field Open Coaching Positions Discussion

Typical emotive red herring in plain sight...

Now, do us a service and add to the discussion by refuting the points made by this individual. All that happen to be correct, mind you. Especially the last one.

Baseless claims by a adult looking child with a malformed pre-frontal cortex can complain up and down whatever hierarchy is at a given institution and by mere allegations (can be whatever trivial mess the kid says), you're in the hot seat.

I feel very badly for these coaches who have to simp and recruit to literal juvenile children and their paycheck is as good as their superiors' contract

Even with the little money I make doing this... I can't imagine doing any other job. I've traveled the country with amazing athletes and met incredible people. I've been to races I dreamed about going to when I was younger and I've worked with insanely talented runners.

Recruiting is hard, travel is hard, the hours are hard, the money is hard but I wake up everyday excited about what we're doing. I get to run easy miles almost every day with the guys if I want. For every headache and stress the job gives me I often find myself with way more moments of joy. I have a lot of pride in the traditions of my group and how we perform as a team. Cross country nationals is my super bowl every year.

For any young person reading this like I was years ago thinking it could never be me... You get out of life what you put into it. A lot of my friends hate their jobs and wake up everyday dreading going to work. If you're passionate about this and are willing to work people will notice you. Even if I got fired I would find another way to coach.

Post jobs!

So what do we do about those amazing women who decide to get preggers and demand better hours and pay? And… before you say “pay them more” where the F does that money come from??? Women leaving this industry (certain Duke coach) complaining about hours and pay recently but that was NOT why she/they/them left- they left because the job was hard and they were more qualified to make more money walking rich people through a house they wanted to buy and got 3%

Hey now, until men can “decide to get preggers,” women still need to be valued and accommodated for being the vessels that keep the human race here on planet earth. Coaching NCAA TFXC is a terrible job for a woman who has small children. It’s already known to be quite hard on men with a wife and children. Travel sucks up the hours with every other weekend 9 months a year plus three seasons of long conference and national trips. Add summer travel too, if you coach elites.

You sound like someone who is bitter that a woman took a job that should have gone to you. Fully 50% of TFXC teams are female athletes.

If you’re wondering why programs struggle to hire even one woman coach, why women are not staying in this profession, this is the reason! Being pregnant and delivering the baby is nothing compared with raising kids (and maintaining a marriage). If coaching could be limited to a 40 hour work week, or maybe just one season, just one gender, then more women would do it. For now, accept the fact that even entry level women coaches are an asset for any year they are willing to work.

The coach I think you're talking about actually applied for the director job when the old director retired and she wasn't selected. Plus that is not why she left coaching. She is very open about her transition, if you ask her. She is not hard to reach out to. You know her current profession, just shoot her an email. It should be okay for women to ask for more money under the right circumstances.

I am glad you are happy and in a good place. College coaching is a young man's game (and more recently very much a woman's game.)

All the things you pointed out are great... when you are in your twenties. What is very difficult:

-getting married, is she OK with you being gone every weekend? Is she OK moving every few years to the next gig, the next move up? Is she OK living in some of these small college towns? Does she have career aspirations and can she achieve them living in Richmond KY (as an example)?

-when your friends and peers are starting to make six figures, earning bonuses, and buying homes, new cars, taking nice vacations and you are... making $40k and renting and moving every few years.. can you deal with that?

-can you deal with being swept out when they want to "go in a new direction"? The new AD has a friend, is enamored with someone former Olympian with no coaching experience but they got that OLY thing by their name, maybe it's a change for a more diverse coaching staff...

Being able to go running with the team is great and all, but it won't pay the bills. If you can get somewhere and stay, I agree that it's a great gig, but doing that is not easy.

bumping

Also- we forget about what our potential spouses do. I've been coaching for about a decade and my spouse is a high powered lawyer who dwarfs my salary. I'm at a super chill mid major that wants to be good, but nobody is getting fired. My coaching staff and I determine our goals and we go for it. my pay sucks.... and we are driven coaches, hence we work A LOT..... but it's all possible because my spouse pays the bills for my coaching hobby. I also know some trust fund coaches. having money and non psycho bosses makes coaching a lot more easy and enjoyable. point is- stop looking at the open college job thread until you have a high powered spouse- that's a more important first step towards chasing your dreams in this industry.

Hourly Part time xc only for women gig opening soon. Great opportunity for a female coach!

Where? give us a region at least?

One of the main reasons why I did not purse collegiate coaching. My wife is involved in a very high paying high level corporate job and has to be in a major city. These days that may be more manageable with work from home, but when we were starting out that was not an option. No way I could ask her to give up her career, or tamp it down, when she's making 3x what I would as the coach of some little college team.

PT distance gig

There are pros and cons to every vocation. There are certainly some unique challenges that come with things like working in the sports world, music, entertainment, etc. It's not a lifestyle for everyone. It's not a 9-5 M-F gig with stability.

In regards to college coaching...really for most people the coaching isn't the issue or accepting the ups and downs that come with results, injuries, etc. It's the things a coach doesn't have control over like changes with administration, changes at the school or financial aid, etc.. Budget battles and recruiting are a grind for everyone. But a coach could do everything well, run a clean program, have success and still lose their job. It happens every day.

The divorce rate is high in the sports world at all levels due to the unpredictable schedules, ever-changing circumstances and travel. As someone else said it's kind of a young man's job to an extent. But if you are a lifer then you have / are paying the price at some point for your physical, emotional and mental energy.

Has anyone heard anything coming from northern Kentucky?

Just throwing it out there that the divorce rate is high everywhere.

I just read an article that the divorce rate in coaching was between 60-70% and in the NFL it was 60-80%. I'd say those aren't good statistics.

What’s the scoop on the SDSU assistant distance gig?

Any news on PLNU or Louisiana La?